Early childhood officials update committee on Head Start following NHA grant termination

By ROBERT KOCH Hour Staff Writer

Published
4:47 pm EST, Thursday, February 25, 2016

Hour photo / Erik Trautmann Interim Superintendent James A. Connelly reads a book to preschool children at the Norwalk Head Start School Readiness Program at Ben Franklin Center as part of Week of the Young Child.

Hour photo / Erik Trautmann Interim Superintendent James A. Connelly reads a book to preschool children at the Norwalk Head Start School Readiness Program at Ben Franklin Center as part of Week of the Young

Hour photo / Erik Trautmann Interim Superintendent James A. Connelly reads a book to preschool children at the Norwalk Head Start School Readiness Program at Ben Franklin Center as part of Week of the Young Child.

Hour photo / Erik Trautmann Interim Superintendent James A. Connelly reads a book to preschool children at the Norwalk Head Start School Readiness Program at Ben Franklin Center as part of Week of the Young

Early childhood officials update committee on Head Start following NHA grant termination

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NORWALK — Norwalk’s early childhood coordinator told elected officials Thursday evening that the termination of the Norwalk Housing Authority’s (NHA) Head Start program actually poses a “great opportunity.”

“We’re coming together to really do this very thoughtfully,” Mary Oster told the Common Council’s Health, Welfare and Public Safety Committee. “This is a really great opportunity for us to plan as a community what we’re going to do for those kids and families.”

At issue is finding an organization to step forward and apply for federal funding to take over the Head Start program after the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) this month terminated the NHA Head Start grant.

On Thursday evening, Oster and Early Childhood Council Co-chairwoman Cathy Decesare updated the committee on where things stand.

Oster said the NHA and interim Head Start operator Community Development Institute (CDI) are working cooperatively at Ben Franklin Center and Nathaniel Ely School with CDI running Head Start classes and the housing authority the other early childhood classes. She described the Head Start transition from NHA to CDI as “seamless.”

“Cathy and I both met with CDI this morning along with (Norwalk) Housing, once again, just to assure you there is not going to be an interruption in services,” Oster said. “It’s likely the (Head Start) families won’t even realize because there really is no change.”

In addition, the Early Childhood Council convened a meeting with Mayor Harry W. Rilling and others Tuesday regarding the Head Start Program, Oster said.

If the NHA doesn’t appeal its Head Start grant termination, a formal lease will be needed for CDI to operate in the building, according to officials.

NHA Executive Director Curtis O. Law told The Hour earlier Thursday that no appeal will be forthcoming.

“We’re out of the (Head Start) business,” Law said. But “the kids are still getting service. That’s the most important thing.”

Councilwoman Phaedrel L. Bowman, health committee chairwoman, said she was pleased that all parties are working together to ensure no interruption of services. She suggested that various organizations might step forward to apply for the Head Start grant.

“With Norwalk Housing, we really just basically tried to replicate what (Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now) had and that may not work for anyone else,” Bowman said. “So say we have eight classrooms, maybe there might be a nonprofit that’s willing to take two (classes) here, or someone might be able to take one (there).”

Whoever does apply for the Head Start grant will need to be ready to follow stringent federal requirements, according to Decesare.

“You have to have a great deal of stamina to want to be the contractor under Head Start because of the incredible paperwork and regulations and requirements,” Decesare said. “It’s not for the faint of heart."

In November, citing unattended children and inadequate staffing, ACF suspended NHA operation of the program and turned over operation to CDI.

The NHA maintains the deficiencies were corrected and appealed the suspension.

Kenneth J. Wolfe, deputy director in ACF’s Office of Communications, said the office strives to ensure high quality Head Start services continue for children and families. He said CDI will continue to operate the Norwalk Head Start program until a replacement is found.

“ACF deployed Community Development Institute Head Start (CDI Head Start) to serve as an interim provider of Head Start services in Norwalk,” Wolfe said. “CDI Head Start will provide Head Start services until ACF administers a competitive process to find a replacement grantee, and a Head Start grant is awarded to a new agency.”

Head Start grants, he continued, are awarded directly to public or private non-profit organizations, including school districts, within a community through a competitive process. To get a federal grant, agencies must apply through a competitive application in response to an open funding opportunity.

“Applications are evaluated by a panel of independent early childhood professionals to determine their ability to deliver on Head Start’s goal of providing high-quality early childhood services to the nation’s most vulnerable infants, toddlers and preschool children,” Wolfe said. “This process helps ensure that the best available agency is selected to provide Head Start and Early Head Start services.”

The NHA began running Head Start at Nathanial Ely School and Ben Franklin Center in February 2014, several months after the program was taken away from Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now (NEON) and turned over to CDI. An audit found that NEON mismanaged Head Start funds.

Both the NHA and NEON applied for the federal grant to operate Head Start following the earlier suspension.

In its bid for the program, Law said the NHA had letters of support from Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Literacy How and Norwalk Community College. The college would perform the training, Stepping Stones would serve in an advisory role, and Literacy How would provide training for teachers, he said at the time.

State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk said that whoever steps forward to apply for a Head Start grant must demonstrate that they can operate the program for the long term.

“The kids who are enrolled in Head Start need the consistency and the parents need the consistency so we have kids that are ready for school,” said Duff, D-25. “There’s a lot at stake here besides who runs the program. We’re talking about educating children and making sure they’re ready for Kindergarten.”